SHALOM MECHANICAL Shalom offers a fully experienced mechanical team passionate about delivering top-quality service. Each member of the team brings extensive knowledge and hands-on expertise, ensuring that every repair and service is completed with precision and care. The mechanics dedication to their craft means they not only meet but often exceed customer expectations, making Shalom a trusted name in the mechanical service industry. All repairs and servicing at Shalom are fully licensed and compliant with industry standards. Whether you need repairs covered by repair tickets or log book servicing to maintain your vehicle’s warranty, Shalom handles it all with professionalism and attention to detail. This commitment to authorized servicing guarantees that your vehicle remains in optimal condition and retains its value over time. Customer satisfaction is a cornerstone of Shalom’s reputation. The business consistently receives great feedback from clients who appreciate the honesty, transparency, and quality workmanship provided. Positive reviews highlight the team’s friendly approach, timely service, and thorough explanations, which build trust and long-term relationships with customers. Shalom also offers competitive quotes that stand strong against other mechanical dealerships. They understand the importance of fair pricing without compromising on quality, making their services accessible and affordable. This balance of cost-effectiveness and excellence ensures that customers get the best value for their investment. For all your mechanical needs, Shalom invites you to come in and get a quote. Whether it’s routine maintenance, complex repairs, or anything in between, their experienced team is ready to provide reliable, efficient, and licensed service tailored to your vehicle’s requirements. Choose Shalom for mechanical care you can trust! Shalom House, “Leading the way in Australia in Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration & Re-Socialisation”.

LADIES - STAYING NO MATTER WHAT The truth is, some days are heavy and they actually just suck. We’ve all had those moments where you wake up and everything feels like a battle and your old instincts kick in and you want to bail. To run away and you feel like it’s all too hard. Honestly? In the past, running away when things got hard was my thing, like most of the women in here. It felt safer to walk away than to sit in the discomfort. But that’s completely different now. Being in this program certainly isn't about having an easy road ahead. It’s about learning the tools to cope when crap hits the fan. It’s learning how to actually stay in the room, take a breath and put the tools we're learning into practice instead of running. The growth isn't happening on the easy days, it's happening right here, in the messy and uncomfortable moments. Shalom House, “Leading the way in Australia in Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration & Re-Socialisation”.

CONGRATULATIONS- CARL IS DEBT FREE! Carl has just achieved a massive victory on his journey! Currently 20-month in to his Shalom House program, Carl’s sheer grit, sacrifice, and deep personal accountability have already broken the chains of financial pressure. Through his absolute determination and hard work, he is now completely DEBT-FREE! Even though he is still in the middle of his program, his perseverance is already completely transforming his circumstances. Carl has worked incredibly hard to put himself in a position where he can now generously bless and support his family, building a lasting and stable legacy for the people who matter most. The entire Shalom House community is incredibly proud of Carl’s ongoing strength, dedication, and inspiring progress. Please join us in celebrating this incredible milestone and help us continue to encourage Carl as he pushes forward! Shalom House, “Leading the way in Australia in Holistic Rehabilitation, Reintegration & Re-Socialisation”

SHALOM CAFE - ANOTHER BIG WEEK OF GROWTH, CONNECTION & COMMUNITY What a week it’s been at Shalom Cafe! Behind the coffee machine, in the kitchen, and out on the floor, there has been so much happening, not just in the cafe, but in the lives of our ladies, too. This week, we’ve been putting Shalom principles into practice with our new lower leadership team, focusing on discipleship, grace, and developing the leadership skills needed to lead others well. Leadership is about so much more than getting the job done. It’s about learning to lead by example, extending grace, growing through challenges, and investing in the people around us. We are learning, teaching, and growing together every step of the way. We’ve also had the pleasure of hosting Amana Living, welcoming some wonderful large social groups into the cafe each day. We love seeing our cafe filled with conversation, connection, laughter, and community. Thank you to everyone who continues to choose Shalom Cafe as a place to gather and enjoy time together. One of the most beautiful highlights of our week has been watching a PAY IT FORWARD TRAIN take off! It all started with one beautiful lady choosing to bless others through her generosity, and what followed was something truly special. Seeing the smiles, surprise, gratitude, and joy this simple act of kindness brought to our customers was absolutely beautiful. One small gesture created a ripple effect of kindness that brightened the day of so many people. It was a wonderful reminder that sometimes the smallest acts of generosity can have the biggest impact. Behind the scenes, our ladies have continued to build confidence, put their skills into practice, and learn what it means to work together as a team. Every busy service, every challenge, and every opportunity to step up is another chance to grow, both personally and professionally. At Shalom Cafe, it has never been just about serving great food and coffee. It’s about creating opportunities, building confidence, developing leaders, and being part of something bigger than ourselves. Thank you to everyone who has visited, supported, encouraged, and blessed us this week. Your support helps us continue the work of Shalom House and the transformation happening in the lives of those who walk through its doors. LEARN IT. TEACH IT. DELEGATE IT. That’s the Shalom way, and we’re excited to keep putting it into practice! SHALOM CAFE 754 Great Northern Hwy, Herne Hill Open Tuesday–Sunday, 7:30am–3:00pm 08 9303 2561 “Shalom House is leading the way in Australia in holistic rehabilitation, reintegration and re-socialisation”.

3/4 — THE SURCHARGE BAN WAS MEANT TO SAVE YOU $1.6 BILLION. WHO'S CHECKING IF IT DOES? The Reserve Bank says Australians were paying about $1.6 billion a year in card surcharges, around $80 for every adult who uses a card. From 1 October those surcharges are gone. Now watch the prices. The ABC warned that rounding means a $4.80 coffee could become $5.00, a 4% rise where the old surcharge was typically 0.5% to 1.5%. One cafe lifted its food and cold drink prices by about $2 on average. The small business council COSBOA said it best: "Removing surcharges doesn't remove all the cost, it simply hides it." So who's checking that the savings reach you? The RBA watches whether banks pass their savings on to shops. Payment providers now have to publish their fees and how much of the fee cut they pass through. But the RBA says it "does not directly regulate merchants." The ACCC no longer polices surcharges. It says businesses are free to set their prices, as long as they don't mislead you about why prices went up. It uses reports to guide its work, but it doesn't resolve individual pricing complaints. In 2024 the government gave the ACCC $2.1 million to go after excessive surcharges. Now there's no surcharge to chase, and I can't find anyone whose job it is to track what happens to shop prices. In fairness, the RBA expects the overall effect on prices to be small, about 0.1%. Only about 16% of businesses were surcharging in the first place. Many shops will absorb the cost or build it into prices that were going up anyway. But if Australians are being told this saves them $1.6 billion, someone should be checking that it does. Publish the before and after prices. Otherwise it's just a press release. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: RBA Conclusions Paper and FAQs, Mar 2026; Canstar, 31 Mar 2026; ABC News, 2 Oct 2026; The Star / Bloomberg, 2 Oct 2026; LSJ, COSBOA quote; ACCC, Card surcharges, Oct 2026; Prime Minister media release, 15 Oct 2024 (coffee percentage: author's calculation).

2/4 — THE SURCHARGE BAN ISN'T A LAW. IT'S A RULE THE CARD COMPANIES ENFORCE ON THEMSELVES. Most people think Parliament banned card surcharges. It didn't. The Reserve Bank removed the rule that forced Visa, Mastercard and EFTPOS to let shops surcharge, and left the card companies to bring in "no-surcharge" rules of their own. They did. So the ban lives in the card companies' contracts with shops, not in an Act of Parliament. That changes who you complain to. The ACCC says plainly: "The card networks or payment service providers are responsible for enforcing these rules, not the ACCC." The RBA says the same about itself. If a shop still surcharges you, you're told to raise it with the shop, then the card network or the shop's payment provider. The people policing the ban are the same people who earn the fees. American Express isn't covered at all. The RBA says Amex is "not currently subject to formal regulation" by the RBA. Amex chose to drop surcharges from 1 October so it wouldn't be the only card left with one. That's a business decision, and the RBA notes the card networks' surcharging rules "may be subject to change." Buy now, pay later and online platforms sit outside this reform too. The RBA said it would look at Amex, buy now, pay later and e-commerce platforms in a separate consultation from mid-2026. And if surcharging carries on anyway, the RBA could recommend the Government legislate a ban. So the law is the backup plan, not the plan. In fairness, the RBA can only regulate the card schemes, not the shops, and working through the networks got the ban in place quickly. Amex has followed voluntarily. But a ban that the card companies police, that doesn't cover every card and that Parliament never voted on isn't the protection Australians were sold. If it's worth having, put it in law. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: RBA Conclusions Paper FAQs and media release, Mar 2026; Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, Apr 2026; ACCC, Card surcharges, Oct 2026; WA Consumer Protection, Oct 2026; Finder, Amex chooses to ditch fees, 14 Jul 2026.

THE ALBANESE LIE LIST. PART THIRTEEN: "SECURE." On 28 February 2026 the strikes on Iran began and Iran moved to close the Strait of Hormuz. On 2 March the Energy Minister told Parliament his government introduced minimum fuel stockholdings and "this was work that was not conducted by the previous government". AAP FactCheck rated it Misleading. The Coalition had passed the law in 2021. On 10 March he said supplies "remain at this point secure" and there was "no need to be concerned at this point about the supply of diesel or petrol." Three days later the government cut the minimum diesel stock Australia must hold from 2.7 billion litres to 2.2 billion. On 23 March more than 100 service stations in NSW had no diesel. Seven months on, it hasn't eased. In early October diesel averaged $2.85 a litre in the capitals, close to $3 in some areas. The Minister says the country holds 32 days of diesel. Every truck, tractor and delivery van runs on it, and you pay for that in every trolley of groceries. In fairness, Australia hasn't met the international 90-day stock standard since 2012, and that failure started under the Coalition. But you can't call supply secure on a Tuesday and cut the legal minimum on the Friday. Farmers and truckies are still paying for it. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: AAP FactCheck, 10 Apr 2026; Beef Central, 10 Mar 2026; Argus Media, 13 Mar 2026; The Nightly, 12 and 23 Mar 2026; IBTimes Australia, 7 Oct 2026 (Petrol Pulse prices, Minister Bowen).

CLARIFICATION 22 Oct 2026: wording on card points tightened after a reader's fair challenge. ANGUS TAYLOR'S CREDIT CARD POST. HERE'S WHAT HE LEFT OUT. The Opposition Leader says the Labor Government will absorb the credit card surcharge for a non-citizen applying for a visa, but "will not" for an Australian small business paying its tax. Here are the facts. From 1 October 2026, the Reserve Bank banned card surcharges across the board. That's the Reserve Bank, not Labor. Every business and government agency has to wear the card fees now instead of passing them on. Home Affairs stopped charging the surcharge on visa fees because of that ban. The Tax Office went the other way. On 1 October it announced it would stop taking credit cards altogether from 30 November, rather than wear the fees. Small business was rightly angry. So were some of Labor's own ministers. Then, on 9 October, the Treasurer announced the government will cover the surcharges so the Tax Office keeps accepting credit cards until 30 June. Angus Taylor posted "right now… they will not" after that announcement. Right now, they will. And who would scrapping the ban for good actually help? The Tax Office says only about 2.3% of tax payments last year were made by credit card. Roughly six in ten of those came from wealthy groups or major corporations. The Tax Office put the cost of absorbing the fees at about $200 million a year. You and I would pay that, so big companies can keep paying their tax on credit, interest-free, with rewards on top. There's a fair fight to be had over the Tax Office's ban. Small businesses with tight cash flow deserve options. But you don't win it by telling people something that stopped being true before you posted it. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Angus Taylor, Facebook, Oct 2026; SmartCompany, ATO ends credit card payments, 1 Oct 2026; Department of Home Affairs, via Migration Institute of Australia, Oct 2026; ABC News, Federal government to fund surcharge costs to delay ATO credit card ban, 9 Oct 2026.

THE ALBANESE LIE LIST. PART TWELVE: THE $3 BILLION NOBODY CAN CHECK. In 2022 Labor promised to cut "wasteful spending on external private labour (contractors, consultants and labour hire)… by $3 billion over four years." The government says it did better: $4 billion. Finance now claims $5.3 billion, counting other non-wage expenses too. In September 2026 the Auditor-General looked at the policy meant to bring the work back in-house. According to the Canberra Times, it covered less than 3% of the Commonwealth's $20 billion external workforce spend. The published data came with caveats that it "was not reliable". Nearly two thirds of agencies missed their own targets. Spending on consultants hit $756 million in 2024-25 and $860 million in 2025-26. The Parliamentary Library calls that a record. And PwC, the firm at the centre of the tax leak scandal, where partners used confidential government briefings to win clients? In August 2025 Finance cleared it to bid for government work again. Finance said the earlier arrangement "was not a ban". In fairness, the public service has grown and some contractor work has come back in-house. But a record $860 million on consultants, a $20 billion outside workforce, and data the government itself says isn't reliable. A $5.3 billion saving you can't check is a claim, not a fact. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: ALP, Labor's plan to reduce waste and reinvest in the APS, 2022; Senator Gallagher media release, 5 May 2024; ANAO Report No. 6 2026-27, via Canberra Times, 28 Sep 2026; Region, 2026 (Parliamentary Library figures); Canberra Times, 7 Aug 2025.

HE WAS THE INVESTORS' VOICE. NOW HE CHAIRS THE STATE'S POWER COMPANY. HE ALSO SITS ON A LABOR MONEY BOARD. A reader sent me a November 2020 page from Project Finance International, the bankers' trade magazine. It quotes the chair of the Clean Energy Investor Group welcoming the New South Wales renewables plan as "a welcome plan for private sector investors", and promising to help design the "financial instruments". That chair was Simon Corbell, a former ACT Labor deputy chief minister. His record, from public documents: In December 2016 the Andrews Labor government made him Victoria's first Renewable Energy Advocate, advising government and drawing investment into renewables. He stepped down in February 2019. On 1 July 2020 he became a director of the 1973 Foundation, registered at ACT Labor's office and listed with the AEC as ACT Labor's associated entity. ASIC still listed him in May 2026. In September 2020 he became chair of the Clean Energy Investor Group, and later ran it as CEO. In 2021 he said its 17 members held about half the operating clean energy generation in the national market. His words: "the voice of capital". In April 2024 SEC Minister Lily D'Ambrosio appointed him chair of the revived State Electricity Commission. He still chairs it. The SEC puts public money into energy projects alongside private investors. Its first was $245 million into the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub with Equis. In September it committed up to $43 million to a battery near Wodonga with Aware Super and developer Birdwood. Meanwhile the Labor company on his CV paid ACT Labor $1,728,822 in 2024-25, its biggest year on the AEC record, after $7.2 million in investment sale proceeds the year before. It paid $750,000 in 2023-24 too, and ACT Labor paid $750,000 back the next year as a loan repayment. To be fair, none of this is unlawful. He's genuinely expert, which is why governments hire him. The SEC has a board conflict of interest policy. I found no SEC deal with a member of his old lobby group and I'm not suggesting one. A Canberra party company has nothing to do with Victorian contracts. But follow the path. He went from advising a Labor government on attracting investors, to being paid to speak for those investors, to chairing the government company that invests alongside them, and sat on the board of a Labor party money company through most of it. Same standard for the Liberals. Former Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale and former senator Richard Alston were directors of Vapold, the Liberals' property company, in 2023-24. The minister who appointed him, Lily D'Ambrosio, leaves politics at this election. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: PFI, 18 Nov 2020. Vic Premier releases, 9 Dec 2016, 8 Feb 2019, 30 Jul 2026. ASIC, 1973 Foundation. AEC Transparency Register. RenewEconomy, 3 Sep 2020, 16 Nov 2021. SEC Victoria governance page. Energy-Storage.News, 17 Sep 2026.

5/12 — SNOWY HYDRO SAYS IT CAN SEE EVERY COST. SO WHY IS THE PUBLIC LAST TO KNOW? Snowy Hydro and its contractor agree on one thing. The owner could see the costs. The contractor tells Parliament the 2023 reset gave Snowy Hydro "full visibility of project performance, costs and risks". Snowy Hydro's own submission says it has "full access to the contractor's costs". Under the equity agreement behind the Commonwealth's $2.6 billion, it is meant to report "the projected cost to Project Completion" to government every month, according to the wording published by former senator Rex Patrick. Snowy Hydro also reimburses the contractor's labour costs. The Auditor-General found it set no guardrails on what the new pay agreement would cost. So it was paying a bill it hadn't capped, with the figures in front of it. In August the Energy Minister said he hadn't received the reassessment. The monthly report is a different document, but it is supposed to carry a projected cost to completion. So here is what Parliament should ask. What did those monthly reports say, and when? Snowy Hydro's own action plan answers part of it. One item reads "Document the monthly cost outcome reporting process and escalation pathways", and the plan lists it as still in progress. The monthly figure government gets comes from a process Snowy Hydro says isn't documented yet. Snowy Hydro says releasing a number early could weaken its hand with the contractor. That's a fair concern. It doesn't explain why the owner with full visibility is the last to say what it sees. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: FGJV Submission 3 (para 70) and Snowy Hydro Submission 4 (pp.13, Appendix 1, Rec 4) to the JCPAA; Auditor-General Report No.39 (paras 2.84-2.86); Rex Patrick, Michael West Media, 8 May 2026.

THE ALBANESE LIE LIST. PART ELEVEN: "NO ONE WILL BE REMOVED WITHOUT SOMEWHERE TO GO." In April 2022 Labor promised to "defend and fix the NDIS", with a review that would "guarantee plans will not be arbitrarily cut". The May 2026 Budget took $37.8 billion out of the scheme over four years. Participants are to fall from about 760,000 to 600,000 by 2030. Albanese's reassurance: "No one will be removed without somewhere for them to go." In July 2026 an internal Health Department brief, released under FOI, put the number moved off the scheme at 241,000 by June 2031. Almost 145,000 of them have autism or developmental delay as their main disability. Most are children. So where do they go? A $4 billion program called Thriving Kids, run with the states. On 1 October 2026 Queensland still hadn't signed the funding deal. Its own disability minister called it "a bad deal for children with a disability". The other states only start designing their services in January 2027, with services in place by 2028. That's the "somewhere to go". For most families it doesn't exist yet. In fairness, the scheme was heading toward $70 billion a year, and children won't be moved off until 2028. But the government's own paper says 241,000 off, most of them kids. Parents are being asked to trust a promise from the same government that promised plans wouldn't be cut. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Labor media release, Defend and Fix the NDIS, 19 Apr 2022; Budget 2026-27; The Guardian, 16 Jul 2026 (Department of Health FOI brief); SBS News, 1 Oct 2026; Minister Butler, National Press Club, 22 Apr 2026.

ALBANESE WANTS CREDIT FOR A $1,345 SAVING. HIS CUTS ARE WORTH $17.50. The Prime Minister says a breast cancer medicine that could cost $1,370 is now $25, and that Labor has added close to 500 new medicines to the PBS. Here's what he left out. The $1,370 is what the drug costs without the PBS. Once any medicine is listed, you pay the co-payment and taxpayers pay the rest. Last financial year taxpayers paid $19.1 billion for PBS medicines and patients paid $1.7 billion. That's the saving, and it's your money, not his. When Labor took office the co-payment was $42.50. Labor cut it to $30 in 2023, it rose with inflation to $31.60, and it dropped to $25 on 1 January. So across both of his cuts, the most he's taken off any script is $17.50. The rest is the PBS doing what it has done since 1948. And he can't list a new medicine on his own. By law, the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee has to recommend it first. Every government lists medicines. The Coalition claimed more than 2,900 new and amended listings in its nine years. Now the parts he didn't put in the ad. Australians wait an average of 3.6 years for medicines already used overseas. Only 26% of the new medicines funded in comparable countries are funded here. 84% of drug companies say Australia is becoming a lower priority place to launch new medicines, and patients are drawing on their super or their mortgage to pay for treatment privately. That's from Medicines Australia's May report, which also says this year's Budget has PBS and health spending falling as a share of the economy. The Auditor-General found the PBS Safety Net still relies on manual enrolment, and estimated 640,000 eligible patients didn't apply for it in 2021. That's money people are owed and never claim, and it happened under both sides. In fairness, the cuts are real money for families on regular scripts, concession card holders have had their $7.70 co-payment frozen until 2030, and his government did pay for the new listings. He has also refused to trade away the PBS to the United States, even with tariffs of up to 100% on some medicine imports on the table. And Medicines Australia is the drug industry's lobby, so it wants more spending. But a $17.50 cut isn't a $1,345 saving. Close to 500 new listings means nothing to the patient still waiting three and a half years for theirs. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Anthony Albanese, Facebook, Oct 2026; PBS Expenditure and Prescriptions Report 2024-25; Dept of Health, PBS co-payments, 2026; National Health Act 1953 s101(3); Greg Hunt media release, 10 Apr 2022; Medicines Australia, Access Denied, 18 May 2026; ANAO, Administration of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; QUT, Prof Felicity Deane, Apr 2026; Emma McBride MP, 1 Jan 2026 (saving: author's calculation).

ANGUS TAYLOR SAYS ONLY THE COALITION CAN FIX IT. HE WAS IN THE ROOM WHEN IT BROKE. Angus Taylor has posted his list against the Albanese Government. Unemployment is up to 4.7%, there were 39,000 fewer people in work in September, and the trust tax will hit more than 200,000 small businesses. Most of it checks out, and Labor owns it. But he wants you to believe his side is the cure. So here's what his side did with nine years in charge. They more than tripled the debt. Gross debt was about $257 billion when the Coalition took office in 2013 and about $895 billion when it left in 2022. That's an extra $638 billion, roughly $24,000 for every Australian. The pandemic explains a lot of it, but not all. And today, interest on federal and state debt is $54 billion a year. Part of that bill is theirs. They let our fuel security collapse. In 2021, with Angus Taylor as Energy Minister, Australia lost two of its four remaining refineries, Kwinana and Altona. We haven't held the 90 days of fuel we promised the International Energy Agency since 2012. When war hit this year and service stations ran dry, that was the gap they left. They ran Robodebt. A Royal Commission called it "a crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal." Taxpayers paid a $1.2 billion settlement for debts that should never have been raised. They grew the PM's office to 62 staff, the most on record, and in their last year paid 58 political staff $1.6 million above the top of their pay ranges. And the rate rises didn't start under Labor. The first one came in May 2022, in the middle of the Coalition's election campaign. In fairness, Labor has now had four years, and the numbers on Taylor's list are happening on its watch. But you can't triple the debt, lose half our refineries and run Robodebt, then tell Australians you're the only ones who can fix it. Both sides got us here. Angus, if there's a better way, publish it. Costed. Before the election. Same standard, every side. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Angus Taylor, Facebook, Oct 2026; ABS Labour Force, Sep 2026; Treasury via Michael West Media, 2026; Budget papers via Independent Australia, 16 Sep 2025 (per-person figure: author's calculation); Parliamentary Budget Office, 2026-27 National Fiscal Outlook; AAP FactCheck, 10 Apr 2026; Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, Report, 2023; RBA, 3 May 2022; Finance FOI 23-24/165; Farm Online, 6 Jun 2024.

4/12 — SNOWY HYDRO HAS KNOWN THE NEW COST FOR NEARLY FOUR MONTHS. Snowy Hydro has known what Snowy 2.0 will cost since late June. It told Parliament so last week, in its own submission: it "received the outcome of the cost reassessment in late June 2026". That's nearly four months. In August the Energy Minister said, "No, I haven't received it." In October Snowy Hydro and the minister's office both said they were working closely on it. Neither gave a figure or a date. So what has Snowy Hydro been doing? Its submission answers that too. It "is currently working through the communications plan for the Snowy 2.0 cost-to-complete reassessment." That's not checking the number. It's planning how to tell you. Government didn't need to wait anyway. Under the agreement behind the Commonwealth's $2.6 billion equity injection, Snowy Hydro reports "the projected cost to Project Completion" every month, according to the wording published by former senator Rex Patrick. Snowy Hydro says an early release could weaken its hand with the contractor. Four months on, the number exists, and the only work Snowy Hydro describes as still in progress is how to announce it. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: Snowy Hydro Submission 4 to the JCPAA (p.14, Appendix 1); RenewEconomy, 3 Aug and 3 Oct 2026; Rex Patrick, Michael West Media, 8 May 2026.

3/12 — THEY KNEW. THE PUBLIC FOUND OUT LAST. Every public record on Snowy 2.0 points the same way. The people running it knew more than you were told, and they knew it early. The main tunnel was planned on about 22 boreholes, one every 760 metres or so. The contractor told Parliament this month that one every 100 metres is normal. Snowy Hydro now admits "design immaturity" was the first cause of the blowout. At the 2023 reset, the contractor's own estimate was already 22 per cent over target, and it says both sides "understood… further cost increases… were likely". You were told $12 billion. In February this year Snowy Hydro's chief executive said the company "didn't foresee all of that in mid-2023". Snowy Hydro has had the new cost since late June. Under its equity agreement, it reports a projected cost to completion to government every month, according to the wording published by Rex Patrick. Last week it told Parliament it is working through a "communications plan". Through all of it the money kept moving. In 2024-25 the Commonwealth put $1.625 billion of equity in while Snowy Hydro paid $333.5 million out in dividends, and executives were due $1.24 million in bonuses a month before the blowout was announced. Snowy Hydro has an explanation for every step. What it hasn't explained is why the public always finds out last. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: FGJV Submission 3 and Snowy Hydro Submission 4 to the JCPAA; ABC, 2 Feb 2026; Rex Patrick, Michael West Media, 8 May 2026; Snowy Hydro annual report 2024-25.

THE ALBANESE LIE LIST. PART NINE: 1.2 MILLION HOMES. The government promised 1.2 million new homes in the five years from 1 July 2024. That needs 60,000 completions every quarter. The Bureau of Statistics released the June quarter figures on 7 October 2026. In the first two years, 355,820 homes were completed. The target needed 480,000 by now. That's about 124,000 homes behind. To catch up, the country must now complete about 70,000 homes every quarter, faster than any quarter of this Accord so far. The government's own housing supply council expects the target to be reached a year late, in 2030. Here's what that means for you. The median Australian home is now worth $899,236. The average new owner-occupier loan is $731,000. Rents rose 5.5% in the past year. And 169,000 households are on the waiting list for public housing, 71,700 of them in greatest need. Meanwhile the government set a migration target of 250,000 for 2024-25. It came in at around 306,000. In fairness, the states control planning and approvals, and builders face high costs and labour shortages. But the government set the target, signed the Accord and campaigned on it. Every quarter it falls further behind, another family stays in the rental queue. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: ABS Building Activity, June 2026 (released 7 Oct 2026); UDIA, 8 Oct 2026; National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, Mar 2026; Cotality Home Value Index, 30 Sep 2026; ABS Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026; AIHW, Housing assistance in Australia 2025; ABS net overseas migration 2024-25.

AUSTRALIA IS GOING BACKWARDS. PART 7/7: JOIN THE DOTS. None of this happened by accident. Follow the chain. The government added 1.27 million people through migration in three years, more than Canberra, Hobart and Darwin put together. The economy got bigger. Your share of it didn't. Real GDP per person is lower than when Labor took office. Those people needed homes. The country is 124,000 homes behind the government's own target. Rent is up $204 a week in five years. AMP says public spending hit a record 28% of the economy. The Reserve Bank Governor told the Senate that spending makes her job harder. Rates went up four times this year. 1.79 million mortgage holders are at risk of stress. The jobs came, but 80% were funded by government, and real wages are still below 2022. Power bills were hidden with rebates you paid for. When they ended, electricity jumped 22.4% and fed straight back into inflation and your mortgage. Tax is now the highest share of the economy since 2007-08. Interest on the national debt is $27.7 billion a year, $75 million a day. Put it all together and the OECD gives you the result. Australian households had the biggest fall in living standards in the developed world, two years running. In fairness, the Reserve Bank sets rates, the whole world had an inflation shock, and government debt as a share of the economy is lower than in 2022. But migration, spending, rebates and tax were the government's choices. Every one landed on the same kitchen table. Yours. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: as cited in Parts One to Six; Final Budget Outcome 2025-26, 28 Sep 2026.